『 Cheap games strike back 』

I bought some cheap games again. Not because I wanted to own these specific titles, but because of the price-tag. I'm not even going to speculate on how long these titles will have to wait their turn, but I know I won't play them anytime soon. Again, I bought four titles, as that's the usual deal at one of my local stores. They tend to have all the oldies on permanent sale of four for about $15, which is fine by me. I stop by from time to time, hoping the put something interesting in the bargain bin.


I got Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon for the PC, Project Zero II for PlayStation 2, Halo 2: Multiplayer Map Pack for the Xbox and Denki Blocks! for Game Boy Advance. I've never played any Broken Sword games other than the first two, so it will be interesting to see how well this title works in more action oriented 3D. I bought Tecmo's Project Zero II, also known as Fatal Frame or simply Zero, because I already own the first game. Having said that, I have to admit I've never bothered to finish it, so maybe I'll go back and do that before I start playing the sequel, whenever that may happen.


I chose to get the map pack for Halo 2 because of the lack of better alternatives. I've never really played that much Halo online, and that probably won't change anytime soon. Still, I had to get four titles and it was the map pack or a Fifa game, or perhaps NHL, which I absolutely despise. The map pack box says that Halo 2 is required to play, and I wonder how exactly does that work. I haven't bothered to check yet, but I'm guessing the game installs additional maps on the hard drive. You can't really swap discs on Xbox, so installation is probably the only way to go. We'll see.


Last but not least is Denki Blocks! And it's not me expressing my enthusiasm here - the game actually has an exclamation mark in its title. I have already played Denki Blocks! on Game Boy Color some years ago, and I really enjoyed it, so I knew what I was getting. It's a really decent, but not well known puzzler, that's all about positioning the blocks right. You start off with a cluster of blocks and a shape to replicate. When you use the directional pad, you move the blocks around, all at the same time. You have to position them in a desired way by pushing them against various obstacles. The concept might not be too entertaining when you read about it, but I assure you it's plenty of fun.


To finish this entry, some sad news - sad for me anyway. It's not something I have bought, but rather something I have lost. I lost my Xbox 360 to the dreaded Red Ring of Death. It came as a huge surprise, since I wasn't using it lately. I switched it on to watch a movie, and it just froze. Gave me some error message, started acting up and refused to start properly. At first I got only the lower right diode error, along with a message on the TV screen, and after that it did boot again, but the next day it wouldn't start at all. Who knows what was going on inside the console, but now it's dead and I have to send it to Microsoft, so that they can get it working again. I bought an Elite, because I wanted to have the best possible alternative. Serves me right for spending a bucket of money on a console that dies, no matter what model you buy.

『 Opening up Pandora's Box 』

Custom firmware for Sony's PlayStation Portable has been around for a while now, and while at first the installation was made possible by the use of various exploits, later on, the only full proof method to flash the PSP firmware was via the so called Pandora's Battery. There was one problem, though - While you could easily put a battery in Pandora mode on a console which already had the custom firmware installed, it was trickier for those with newer models and without a second, flashed PSP.


Up until now, the only way a battery could be converted was by the means of hardware modification. The battery had to be taken apart, and this alone was quite risky, as it can be very easily damaged. After that, fourth pin on the EEPROM chip had to be lifted from the PCB - This would put the battery into service mode permanently, so naturally, if we wanted the battery to work again, the pin had to be soldered back into place. The main problem here is the extremely small size of the chip and the fact that it's always live, since it's powered directly by the battery. To give you the idea of scale, I took a picture of the PCB alongside a regular match.


Ever since the hardware modification became popular, so called tool batteries started showing up. Manufactured in China, these were single mode Pandora's Batteries, which could not be used as a regular power source for the console. Despite this, regular batteries were still the preferred choice and those with good soldering skills would simply attach a micro switch, allowing the battery mode to be changed at any time.


Because of the obvious demand, Chinese manufacturers went to work, and created a dual mode battery that, similarly to those with micro switches, could be put in Pandora or in normal power mode by a simple press of a button. I've never bothered to acquire one of the so called tool batteries, since it would be pretty much single use. I'm glad I waited, though, since now the perfect solution is finally available, at a really low price.


The mythological Pandora's Box is synonymous with the ultimate evil being unleashed onto the world. I'm not sure who was the first to call the service mode battery by that name, but even though it does give console owners a possibility of booting pirated games, at the same time it opens the door to homebrew games and applications. It's a shame that companies don't give hobbyists legitimate ways of creating original software, and that homebrew always has to be associated with piracy, but that's the way it is and there are no two ways about it.


Probably the most attractive feature available, once we install custom firmware on the PSP, is the ability of playing old PlayStation games. The console, with a little help from homebrew tools, runs old Sony titles almost as good as PlayStation 2 did, sharing its incompatibilities with a few chosen titles. This feature alone is a reason enough to get a custom firmware installed. I rarely pull out my old PlayStation but even then I have to sit in front of a TV, with a controller in my hand. Playing these games on PSP is a whole new experience and every PSP owner should try it.


So that's that. I gave myself a gift of emulation, homebrew and classic PlayStation games, and when I was buying the battery, I even got myself a tiny pig flashlight with two super bright white LEDs installed in its snout. If you're a PSP owner and you haven't had the chance of installing the custom firmware, get yourself one of those batteries and give it a go. The best thing is, you can always revert your console to its original state.

『 Gravity Bone 』

If anyone ever told you that good adventure games can never be played from first person perspective view, they were wrong. Before I talk about this game I have to say one thing - I love indie productions. Unrestrained, innovative, and most of all, free. I've come across Gravity Bone by accident and I'm really glad I had a chance to play it. It's one of those titles that prove how much can be done with easily accessible tools and a decent amount.


The first thing I thought when I saw this game was "Wow, this really reminds me of Naomi Iwata's Gregory Horror Show". I made this immediate association based solely on the blocky character design, because the feel is completely different here. The game starts without any explanations. You're presumably a guy, in an elevator, on his way down. In your hand you hold a card with simple instructions which point you in the right direction and that is that.


Everything we need to do, we're told by a voice on a tape we'll have to find. I won't be spoiling it for you, but the game is really simple, yet extremely enjoyable. There's just something about it - From the second you step out of that elevator, you're a part of this world and you feel it. And you know that playing this game will be a memorable experience. And it is.


The whole game was created by one person - Brendon Chung, who used Knightmare's KMQuake II, which is a modification of ID Software's Quake II engine, as a base for his game - All thanks to John Carmack's unselfish policy of releasing his engine sources to the public. It's great to know that games like this one can be built and released as standalone productions rather than mods for the ever so popular Source engine. If you're interested in the technical aspects of Gravity Bone, read the manual enclosed with the game. You'll find a full list of tools used by Mr. Chung.


I've said some good things about this title, but there's one major flaw which I would like to address. The game is way too short. I know there is no specific measure of game length and there are no guidelines on how long the games should be, but I wouldn't even call this title short, simply because it's shorter than short. It's a shame really, because from the second I started playing this title, I wanted more. Even before I finished it. So if you're looking for a game that lasts, you'll be disappointed. That of course doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try - on the contrary. It deserves your attention. You can get this title for free from Blendogames.com, and check out other titles on the download list while you're at it.

『 EZ-Flash IV and GBA Homebrew 』

Nintendo DSi, stripped of backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance, marked a definite end of an era. For me, this was a wake-up call of sorts. I've been planning on getting a new and better flash device for my Game Boy Advance for ages and now, and when all eyes are turning away from Nintendo's old handheld platform, quality flash devices at reasonable prices will become harder to get. After looking into what works and what doesn't I chose EZ-Flash IV. The device is of standard Game Boy Advance cartridge size and features a MiniSD card slot with capacity support for up to 2GB. No real time clock, but who needs it anyway?


Game Boy Advance might not enjoy the same amount of attention from homebrew programmers as Nintendo DS, but it has its share of shining gems and Motocross Challenge is certainly one of them. The game closely follows the gameplay model of Excite Bike, adding updated graphics and not much more, but it works. It's a quality product and from the start, this was supposed to be a commercial release. Sadly, Nintendo broke the contract with DHG Games, but the developers were kind enough to release their work to the public. You can get it from here, since the official DHG Games site is no longer available.


Everyone probably is, or should be, familiar with the next title on my play-worthy homebrew game list. I've already talked about the PC release of Another World, but you can't take your PC with you everywhere you go. Why not pop Another World into your Game Boy Micro and help Lester save his own skin? This is one of the best games I have ever played, so if you're not familiar with it, it would be best if you familiarized yourself with Eric Chahi's masterpiece immediately. The official Game Boy Advance port was done by Cyril "Foxy" Cogordan and is hundred percent freeware. Go grab the ROM here.


Last, but not least, some proper bullet hell, a rare sight indeed, especially on Game Boy Advance. Takayama Fumihiko has managed to create two top shelf titles, which thanks to their design aesthetic could easily be a part of bit Generations line-up. The first game is called BulletGBA and to play it, you'll have to change the screen orientation from horizontal to vertical, much like in some WonderSwan productions. The main objective here is not to shoot, but to dodge. You'll have a storm of bullets coming towards you and the only objective is to survive. Before you start your game, you can choose what type of bullet patterns you want to stand against. Both of Fumihiko's games use BulletML by Kenta Cho, a well known developer, famous for his amazing danmaku shooters. BulletML allows easy replication of bullet barrage from other games and thanks to these archives, patterns from many renowned shooters were added.


While still refining BulletGBA, Fumihiko released a second game called Vulkanon. This one is played horizontally and unlike BulletGBA, is not all about dodging. The player will have to destroy enemy ships while avoiding thousands upon thousands of bullets of all kinds. I couldn't tell you which one of these two games is tougher, but they're both addictive, especially if you're a shoot 'em up fan. Both of the games were developed using devkitPro and are open source. Another thing worth mentioning is that music was composed by a well known chiptune artist, Nullsleep. I have already linked to the games in their titles, but if you have somehow managed to miss it, go here. And that's it for today.

『 TI-89 Titanium 』

Recently, I acquired a new graphing calculator by Texas Instruments. Few weeks back I was considering a purchase of a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, because the Titanium was way too expensive for my taste - the cheapest one I found online was selling for $342. After checking out some local stores I decided to dig around the internet for the cheapest place to get one, and that's when I found the Titanium on Amazon. The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition was selling for $174, so imagine my surprise when I saw a much superior TI-89 Titanium on sale for $139.


I had no choice but to grab it while I still could. The tricky part was, Amazon charges plenty for shipping to Europe, and a package would certainly be intercepted by customs. This would mean I'd have to pay customs 20% of the price, plus 25% tax. I didn't feel like throwing my money away, so I asked my friend DJGeki of Cryptic Allusion to buy it for me and send it to me as a gift. Amazon doesn't charge for the shipping within the US, by the way.


This way, I have managed to get what I wanted and I ended up saving $175. A graphing calculator might not be the best topic to discuss on a blog focused mainly on gaming, but it just so happens that there are a lot of games written for these calculators, as well as scene demos. There's even a Game Boy emulator, which thanks to the calculator's Motorola 68000 running at 16 MHz, a 160×100 display and tons of memory, is a pretty decent alternative for those, who can't live without games, but won't dare to pull out a real Game Boy during class. Another cool feature is the 3D graphing, which is probably the only visually interesting function of the calculator, so here's a sample video. If you can't be bothered with a Nico account, go here and click play.


If the calculator wasn't enough, when I opened a package I found some additional gifts from DJGeki and his wife Pam. I got two gashapon capsules, one containing a Super Mario stylus for the Nintendo DS, the other a Gyakuten Saiban 4 [逆転裁判4] super deformed figurine of Garyū Kyōya [牙琉 響也]. On top of that, I got a small bottle of maple syrup which, up until now, I have never tasted.


I always imagined that maple syrup's taste would be somewhat similar to honey, partially because of the obvious visual resemblance, and because I knew it was sweet and thick. The real taste is hard to explain. It is honey-like, but it has a hint of coffee syrup and malt somewhere in the background. I'll cook up some pancakes soon and we'll see how well these two go together.


So thanks again to DJGeki and Pam for supplying this delicious treat. Maple syrup is kind of hard to come by here, and I was told to stay away from the so called "pancake syrup", which doesn't have an aounce of maple sap in it. It's always fun to try new things, especially when they're this tasty.


Before I go, I'd like to ask everyone to come by the Cryptic Allusion forums and check out the CryptoCast section. There's a new podcast recorded every other week, which you can both download from the forums or participate in on Justin.tv. Follow DJGeki's Twitter to get the broadcast time and date or register on Justin.tv and subscribe to the channel. You'll get a broadcast start notification via email. That's it for now! Cheerio!